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Indian government petitions Supreme Court to review gay sex ban

The court's decision was met with dismay by gay rights activists, while a top cabinet minister accused the court of dragging the country back to the 19th century.

REUTERS: Anindito Mukherjee

The Indian government wants the Supreme Court to review a ruling it made earlier this month, which reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex.

The government has filed a petition with the top court, asking to reconsider its December 11 judgement because it believed the ruling was "violative of the principle of equality".

The Congress-led government told the court in its so-called "review petition" that it wanted an "open hearing on the matter".

Gay sex had been effectively legalised in 2009 when the Delhi High Court ruled that a section of the penal code prohibiting "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" was an infringement of fundamental rights.

But in its judgement, a panel of two Supreme Court judges ruled that the High Court had overstepped its authority and that a law passed in 1860 during British colonial rule was still valid.

"The position of the central government on this issue has been that the Delhi High Court verdict... is correct," the government said in its petition.

The Delhi High Court had said Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which bans "unnatural offences" did not apply to sexual relations between consenting adults as it would violate constitutional guarantees of dignity, equality and freedom from discrimination.

Section 377 stipulates a punishment of up to life imprisonment for breaking the law.

The 2009 High Court ruling was strongly opposed by religious groups, particularly leaders of India's Muslim and Christian communities, who appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court will now consider the merits of the government's request and decide whether to re-examine the judgement.